legal and social conditions for asylum seekers and refugees in ...

under “Language tuition for refugees” below) have provided fourteen schools with specialist
teachers to assist the children of asylum seekers and refugees.
School attendance
Child care
School attendance is compulsory for all children between the ages of 6 and 16, including the
children of asylum seekers. There are no special introductory classes for asylum seekers,
however, the Department of Education does provide 14 schools with specialist teachers who
provide support for the children of asylum seekers, refugees and persons with temporary leave to
remain.
No childcare arrangements are available for asylum seekers.
Unaccompanied minors
The Irish authorities have no formal policy regarding unaccompanied minors and the Health
Boards are responsible for their welfare as for any other asylum seekers. In practice,
unaccompanied minors are referred by a Health Board’s community welfare officer to a social
worker who will assess their needs and situation. The social worker will then advise the officer as
to the most suitable accommodation for the child. Most minors are placed in hostels or bed &
breakfast accommodation and, in most cases, remain there until they are at least 18 years old. If
a minor wishes to live in private rented accommodation, the community welfare officer requests a
recommendation from a social worker on the suitability of this accommodation for the minor.
As no agency has been established to deal with the educational needs of unaccompanied minors,
there is a lack of co-ordinated information ensuring that minors are aware of their entitlements. In
practice, difficulties have arisen in cases where the minors cannot speak English and they have
been obliged to enrol in a school without any assistance whatsoever.
In 1999 and until June 2000, the Irish Refugee Council’s Legal Unit has run a UNHCR-funded
Women and Children’s project. The services offered include regular legal advice to
unaccompanied minors and vulnerable women, assistance during the interviews on request,
liaison with the legal representatives, as well as the collation of statistics.
Female asylum seekers
There are no special measures for female asylum seekers.
Through its Women and Children’s project, the Legal Unit of the Irish Refugee Council has been
able to offer services and assistance to vulnerable women (see above).
Health/sickness
Asylum seekers are issued with a medical card, which entitles them to free access to general
practitioners and to free hospital and dental care on equal terms with Irish citizens on income
support.
The Refugee Applications Centre offers a full medical screening service to asylum seekers, which
includes screening for certain infectious diseases and checking vaccination information. However,
this service is only based in Dublin and therefore only available for new arrivals. Asylum seekers
outside Dublin have no access to this type of specialist health-care, and therefore do not benefit
from medical expertise to cover special situations.
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Ireland